'We could have done better:' Coroner’s Inquest into death of Cree teen in B.C. group home continues

A coroner's inquest into the death of a Cree teen in a B.C. group home heard that the organization that operates the facility has made changes since the 2020 tragedy.

Traevon Desjarlais was 17 when he died in September of 2020, and living in an Abbotsford facility operated by the Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society under contract to the provincial government. He was found dead in the closet of his room four days after he was reported missing.

On Tuesday, program director Kyla Darby told the jury that if things had been done differently while Desjarlais was alive – particularly early on, his death may have been prevented.

“The span of Traevon's life and how his life played out, I think, has a lot to do with how he ended up. I think things could have been done better and differently earlier in his life and we may have been able to prevent the tragedy," she said.

Darby also said things could have been done differently while he was living at the Abbotsford home.

“I don’t think we implemented the services and supports that he needed from a cultural standpoint,” she said. “We could have done better.”

In British Columbia, 66 per cent of children in care in are Indigenous, even though Indigenous children make up only 10 per cent of the province's child population.

Darby says the organization's staff is now 30 per cent Indigenous and that strides have been made to ensure that all staff and caregivers receive cultural training.

The inquest also heard that COVID-19 restrictions had meant that doctors were not able to see Desjarlais as frequently as they had before in the months before he died.

Other testimony came from forensic pathologist Dr. Steven White who said that Desjarlais died due to asphyxiation from hanging. Toxicologist Dr. Aaron Shapiro told the jury that a post-mortem screening found evidence of cannabis use, but that there was no way to tell when it was consumed or how much.

The final witnesses at the inquest are expected to provide testimony on Wednesday.

An inquest into the teen's death was not mandatory, however one was ordered by the BC Coroners Service earlier this year because "there is reason to believe that the public has an interest in being informed of the circumstances."

While an inquest cannot make findings of fault, it has three main functions, according to the province: to determine the facts surrounding the death; to make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths in the future; and "to ensure public confidence that the circumstances surrounding the death of an individual will not be overlooked, concealed or ignored."